I Have Promised to Protect You
by EphemeralSakura
Summary: SasuSaku - Cannon- Verse. She gets attacked during a mission and he can't simply accept what happened to her without doing anything about it.


**A/N:** Well, this is an old one and reading now, I feel like I've left a hint for a possible continuation that I never wrote... So, it will be up to you, guys! Should I continue or not? For now, I'll leave it as "complete" , but, if you want, I can make a continuation out of this! It's your choice! Enjoy!

She had told him she would be back for dinner. She had told him it would be an easy mission. She had told him he was getting paranoid. Yet, even after saying all those words, the one she called boyfriend was waiting for her, at the door of her house, 3 hours after midnight. Sakura would better be hurt, otherwise, he would be the one to kill her.

It was something rare to see the last Uchiha so anxious like that. It was no secret that he had grown fond on the pink haired girl, yet, the state in which he was found at that exact time was something that was never seen before. He tried to lean against a wall, but his feet refused to stand still for more than five seconds. His lower lip was constantly being bitten and the fingers of his hands wouldn't stop playing with each other. The boy was extremely uneasy, and it was all because of a pink haired stubborn girl who had argued with him on that same morning about her own ninja skills. Sakura affirmed she was strong and a high qualified ninja, and Sasuke knew it was true, still, even the Godaime's apprentice could fail. She just had to make sure this failure wouldn't cost her life or her friends' ones.

After another half hour had passed, Sasuke decided not to wait any longer. He was willing to go after her even if the Hokage herself had forbidden him to take one step away from the village to go after the pinkette. The girl's master trusted her student, and Tsunade knew that if any of the boys from the team 7 went after her apprentice, Sakura would be really hurt inside. Her pride was important for her, specially after spending three years beating herself up with a rough training routine. Being saved by them would make her mad for, at least, two months. So waiting for her to return was always the best thing to be done by everyone, but he wasn't "everyone". He was her boyfriend. He was worried. And he was completely right to be.

In a sudden moment, when the raven haired boy was about to jump on a roof, a sound broke the peaceful silence of the village. Two kunais were throw towards him, craving on the concrete wall next to his waist and directing his attention to the future dead man who had dared to try hurting him. The man couldn't have chosen a worst time to do such thing, and it wasn't necessary to see Sasuke's face to know how angry the boy was.

" ... You shouldn't have done that."

" or what, Uchiha?"

"I will end you right now."

" well, then let me give you one thing before you finish everything..."

" and what is it?"

" turn and see it for yourself."

With his bloody eyes forming a deadly glare and his hand clenched on two fists, the avenger slowly started to turn his face towards the man behind him. His head, then, slowly started to look over his shoulder and that was all it took for all that pose and intimidation of his to get completely destroyed. The Sharingan holder was a completely different man after that glance. Seeing that vibrant pink on the wrong hands had been too much for him.

She was with him. She was in his dirty hands, completely unconscious and, for what Sasuke could see, with parts of her clothes ripped and bruises spread all around her arms and legs. What could have happened to her?

The shocked expression playing on the raven haired boy's face made the villain, who had no possible identification, smirk. The view of a completely lost Uchiha was, definitely, satisfying for that stranger. Sasuke had loosened the grip of his hands, his eyes were widened and his mouth was left in a complete agape Still, the villain wasn't done playing with that boy yet.

" ... Your girlfriend was unlucky to cross my way... But, since she is who she is, I've decided to use her so I could get you."

"... You bastard!... What have you done to her!?"

" we just... Had a little fun..." He smirked.

" let her go! Now! Didn't you say I was the one you wanted? Then come for me!"

" tch... You're in no position to give me orders, Sasuke... But, since I am a nice guy, I'll do as you say."

Holding that dirty smirk on his face, the one who had invaded the Leaf, literally, threw the girl's body away. He did it as if it wasn't a big deal. As if she wasn't a human, but a rock falling from the top of a building. A rock that was heading directly to the ground. Fortunately, the boy was fast enough to catch her before falling face first.

Sasuke threw his own body on the ground and caught her just some seconds before the girl crashed against the ground. Her head fell on his chest and, quickly, the boy adjusted it so her chin could rest on his shoulder. She was bleeding a lot, Sasuke noticed. Her shirt was completely stuck on her body due to the blood soaking the fabric. Sakura needed a doctor. She wouldn't make it if she kept bleeding like that. And, luckily, the boy knew it. The only hard thing, in his opinion, would be getting rid of that lunatic who had dared to touch his girl.

" you will pay me for that!"

" uhm... I think she's the one who will pay you..." He laughed.

" just wait until I get my hands on you!"

" well... I'll be waiting for this moment...- he smirked evilly- if you want to know where to find me, ask the pinky when she wakes up... She will be more than happy to tell you that, or, better saying, show you."

" you..."

" if I were you, I would run to the hospital... She doesn't seem okay..."

" I'm going to kill you!"

" bye bye Sasuke-kun!"

In between the whispering wind, the bad guy disappeared in the middle of the night. The couple was left alone and, at the same moment, Sasuke stood up and carried her, bridal style and in a huge hurry, to the hospital.

" don't you dare die now, Sakura!"

He looked at her state and couldn't help but feeling his heart clenching inside his chest. It was just too painful. The raven haired boy, even if he tried not to, couldn't help but imagining the worst possible scenario. At the same time he thought about revenge against that man, his eyes wouldn't leave her porcelain blood stained face. She would better be okay, otherwise he wouldn't know how to live without her.

In the next morning, when the first rays of the sun started to penetrate the hospital room where the pinkette was resting, the raven haired boy drunk his nth cup of coffee. Since the previous night, when he bursted into the hospital with the girl in his arms, the former missing nin hadn't slept at all. He had stayed by her side during the whole night and he wasn't intending to leave until she was awake. And she would wake up, he knew it. The doctors had said so too. They had said she just needed some rest. And he would make sure that she rested a lot. Even if the one thing he wanted the most was seeing her eyes and glaring at her for being so reckless. He wanted to fight with her, and of course, hug her so tight until she stopped breathing. Maybe he just wanted her to wake up. Fortunately, she did.  
The first sign he had was when her delicate hand started to move. Her fingers went up and down, and noticing that small change in the scenario, Sasuke widened his dark pearls and took her hand on his. With his thumb caressing the back of her hand, the Uchiha leaned closer so he would be able to see her emeralds opening, and also, make sure she would see him there, by her side.

" Sasuke-kun..."

" Sakura! Sakura, how are you? Does it hurt? What happened last night?!"

"... I'm fine." She said, taking a deep breath. " Tch, that guy got me bad..."

" Hn, you bet he did... You got here almost-" He swallowed his words.

" dead?"

"... Yes... Hn, don't scare me again."

" it's not like I wanted to..."

" you won't go alone on missions anymore... "

" yeah, right... It was just bad luck, that's all..."

He glared at her as she sat up on the bed, moving her neck up and down in order to release the tension accumulated from the last battle. Sakura seemed to be a little slow, probably a side effect from the painkillers she had taken, yet, there was a smile on her face. A weak smile, combined with multiple bruises and scratches all over her body. Sasuke hated her for that. He hated her for smiling so sadly in a time like that. How could she be thinking about smiling, when the only thing in his mind was revenge? When all he could think of was making a man suffer, his girlfriend, the one who suffered directly on the hands of the said man, was simply smiling. Something wasn't right. Not for him.

The guilt of a fight that had nothing to do with him was destroying the raven haired boy from inside. He seemed to be taking all the blame on himself simply because the criminal that had done such thing to her, just wanted to call his attention. It was his fault that she was all hurt like that. And taking full responsibility was something that must have been done by, but not until he got the so desired message.

Sighing suddenly, Sasuke softly squeezed her hand before locking their eyes together. The pinkette already knew what he was about to come, and she definitely didn't want to talk. She didn't want to give him any detail from her solo mission. She didn't want him to do anything stupid, such as going after the guy. She didn't want him to go back to the road of revenge again, and for that, Sakura was ready to endure all that pain with a smile on her face. Not mattering how fake it was.

" Sakura... What's the message that guy sent me?"

"M-Message?" She hesitated. " I don't remember it anymore."

"... Don't lie to me."

" I'm not."

" yes, you are. Tell me that message, now! Hn, he also said you would show me... What are you hiding?" He lifted an eyebrow.

" nothing..."

In search of any sudden change, his eyes started to scan her body viciously. He tried her hands, her breathing and even her legs. But nothing seemed to change. Sakura had become quite a good liar since the end of the war. She wouldn't lose a single night of sleep if her lie had helped someone. Yet, even if the quality of her fake smiles had improved and the spasms of her body were controlled, not even she was unreadable. Not on his eyes.

Immediately locking his eyes at one of her hands that was adjusting her position on the bed, the Sharingan holder caught what seemed to be a flinch from her back when it made contact with the white matters of the bed. The pinkette seemed to be taking a lot of care with that particular area of her body, and that was when he remembered that, on the night before, Sakura was bleeding a lot, but from where the blood was coming from? Maybe from her back? The Uchiha wanted to see. And he wouldn't take a no as an answer.

" let me see your back."

" uh? What?! W-Why?"

She hesitated again. _Bingo._

" I want to see your wounds. Show me, now."

" N-No... I'm not showing you my wounds. They will heal. And then everything will be normal again."

" Hn...- he crossed his arms, glaring at her- show me, now."

" No!"

" Sakura..." He massaged his temples. " I'm not in the mood to argue right now. Show me your back before I do something stupid."

" like what?! I'm not afraid of you and I also won't show you!"

" damn you, girl! You've asked for it!"

Quickly grabbing her wrist, the angry Uchiha pulled her a little forward in order to expose her covered back, and once he got the full vision, Sasuke used his other hand to rip off the big and green shirt that was given to all the patients of the hospital.

" Stop it, Sasuke!" She cried out loud, attracting the attention of a certain pair of sapphire eyes that were passing in front of her room. The other member of their team got really shocked when he saw how rudely his best friend held the girl's wrist. He couldn't simply stay back and watch. Naruto had to do something.

" take your hands off her, Sasu-"

Bursting into the room, the blonde, when his lips were about to start his speech, saw the hidden part of her skin that she didn't want show. His blue eyes widened at the same time. Never in their years as a ninja, had he seen such insane idea.

The thin fabric was quickly torn, leaving her breasts exposed for some seconds before the girl protectively wrapped the covers on her body. Sakura was shocked. How could he have done such thing to her? She felt like been violated with her thorax exposed like that. She felt ashamed of all her scars and all her marks, specially of the ones she had earned in her last solo mission. They were big, and definitely, they delivered the so waited message that the boy wanted. Yet, instead of making him a little more relieved, seeing such deep cuts, and his girlfriend in such state, just made him angrier and her tears start to fall unstoppably from her eyes and staining the white covers she was wrapped on. That guy would definitely pay for what he had done to her.

The skin of her back was completely used as a letter paper. There were words craved on her skin. Word by word. Letter by letter. Everything, probably, made with a worn kunai, for the cuts were irregular and seemed to have been made with a lot of strength.

 _" Come to find me, Uchiha. I'll be waiting at the north frontier. We have some business to take care of. Don't leave me waiting or I will have to write another message."_

It was a terrifying scene, they thought. And the one thing the boys were seeing wasn't even the original, since the doctors had already cleaned and disinfected. Yet, it was still something that hurt them a lot.

" oh shit..."

" Naruto..." She opened her eyes and looked at her friend.

" get the hell out, Dobe! We are in the middle of something important!"

" but-"

" Now!"

"... I'll be waiting outside. Don't do anything stupid to her, Sasuke... I won't allow you to hurt her."

" Hn."

After some endless seconds, when the room got its silence back and Sasuke had already got used to the scene, the pinkette finally looked at him. Her eyes were still full of tears and her sobs were, surprisingly, too low for the situation. Maybe she didn't want to cause any more trouble. Maybe she wanted to apologize. Maybe she wanted him to listen to her.

Reaching for his hand, Sakura squeezed it hard, and angrily, he finally looked at her again. Sasuke was mad and no expert was needed to conclude such thing. He was nervous and full of hatred inside. And nothing good comes when the last Uchiha put his vengeful feelings in front of the rational ones. Probably that was the reason why the pink haired medic had to be strong enough for both of them during such hard times.

" Sasuke-kun... Don't worry about this... I'll be fine. Now calm down and just forget about it, okay?"

" ..." He said nothing.

"The cuts won't even leave mark, I promise."

"..." His silence prevailed.

" Sasuke-kun... Please... Don't go after him... I beg you!"

" ...How? How am I supposed to forget something that has made you bleed and even scream? I can't calm down. I can't forget it... I can't stand still, knowing that the one who has hurt you is still outside!"

" I don't care about this! I just don't want you to get hurt!"

" I'm not getting hurt, he is!"

" can't you see what's happening?! It's happening again! You won't be able to control yourself and the next time the arms of a stranger won't be the only broken thing!"

"... Do you really expect me to do it?... Do you really want me to act naturally with the one who has dared to hurt you!? I can't do this! I can't! It's not right! He has to pay."

" no... Please..."

Her tears started to stream down her face once again and she let his hand go. It hurt too much, but not her wounds. She covered her eyes as if she refused to look at him. Sakura didn't need to see him walking after revenge one more time. She didn't need to know how she just wouldn't be able to stop him once again. So, the girl simply fell apart in tears and despair, right there in that hospital bed and in front of the one she loves.

Looking at the state where the girl was trapped, the Uchiha let out a long sigh before sitting by her side. He looked at her face and how the tears were slipping through her fingers. That scene broke his heart, and from that moment on, he already knew what to do.

In a gentle gesture, the raven haired boy placed his hand on the top of her head, slowly caressing it. Instantly, Sakura uncovered her red eyes and saw that, even if his touch felt good, his eyes weren't even looking at her. They were aiming on the floor instead. Yet, he didn't need to look at her to know that silly expression of hers. Sasuke knew her too well.

" I... I feel pathetic when I realize that I can't even protect the one person I love... And knowing that I won't be able to do anything is frustrating..."

" Sasuke-kun... Do you mean that.-"

" hn, I'll go to your house to tell your parents about you and I'll get you some clothes too... Tsunade said you'll be here for another night, so I'll be back to pick you up, okay? I'm exhausted."

"... I understand... Thank you, for everything..."

" hn- he kissed her forehead and stood up- I'll let Naruto come in... Cover yourself, okay?"

" okay... Uh, Sasuke-kun...?"

" what?"

" I love you... A lot... Don't you dare leave me waiting."

" Tch... I'm not you."

With one last smile sent by both of the teens, the raven haired boy left the room, finding a blonde boy waiting outside. Naruto had a malicious grin on his face, and even before the Uchiha said anything, he already knew the plan.

" So, at what time are we going?"

" hn, soon... Don't tell her anything."

Naruto nodded positively and saw as his best friend walked away on the hallway. The blonde wouldn't say anything but, if he knew his pink haired friend, she already knew everything. And she did. As soon as Sakura was left alone, her expression changed. She knew he was going to the north frontier. She knew he was lying from the moment when he didn't look into her eyes while saying those things. He lied and she allowed him to. There was nothing she could do. She would never be able to convince him to stay. Just like on that night.

 _ **The End.**_


End file.
